As Angino “The Nightmare” Perez (17-5, 15 KOs) prepares, with his trainer, Javier Centeno, to face Karl “Dynamite” Dargan (16-0, 8 KOs) on Sept. 20 at Foxwoods Resort Casino and live on broadcast NBC Fight Night, he feels no pressure because, as Centeno puts it, “He has nothing to lose.” Angino, or Gino as he is known to those closest to him, is a 31 year old junior welterweight who accepted a fight with the undefeated Dargan at lightweight for the Junior NABF Lightweight Title because the pressure would all be on Dargan. According to Centeno, “Gino is the type of guy that always feels the pressure is on the other guy. He has nothing to lose. He is going in against a guy that is undefeated. Gino has some losses on his record. He’s the type of fighter that is just going to go out there, do his work and whatever the outcome is, it is.”
For the first time in a long time, Perez and his team have adequate time to prepare at Sweatbox Boxing and Fitness in Davie, FL. For his last several fights, Perez had only one to two weeks’ notice but, this time, the Miami native has ample time to prepare. He said, “I am managing myself and promoting myself and there have been no good fights offered to me. The fights I have been offered in the past were always on short notice where I didn’t have time to train.” But this time is different according to Centeno, “At this point in his career, we want to make a run for something so we need to make sure that we strategize. We need to make sure we get at least five to six weeks minimum training camp before each fight. Training camp has been different because we have been able to work our way into a routine. In the past he had no strategy to do anything; his training camp consisted of getting into the gym, skipping rope, hitting the bags, getting in some sparring and that’s it. We’ve been working on his strength, his endurance and his power and we have been sparring in between as well.”
With regards to sparring, Perez and Centeno wanted to find sparring partners to emulate Dargan’s style. Centeno said, “I watched Dargan’s last fight with Flores as well as his previous fight with Chazz McDowell. We know that Dargan is a counter puncher but he can also be very aggressive. We have been trying to get him in the ring with guys that can do both. Gino likes to bang. He likes to get in there but he’s getting older and, if he wants to survive in the fight game, he’s going to have to adapt a little bit. We are preparing for everything: preparing for if Dargan comes in aggressive and preparing for Dargan being a counter-puncher.”
This fight requires Perez to step down in weight from junior welterweight to lightweight. According to Perez, he has had to make several adjustments to his diet to come in at the lower weight, “This time I am eating healthy and my body feels a lot different and stronger. We have sparred with a lot of heavier guys. I am taking things more serious. I finally decided to take my career into my own hands.” Therefore, Centeno is not concerned about Perez making the weight for Sept. 20, “We know he can make the weight and make it comfortably. He’s been eating right; his diet has been completely changed. He is just very lean and strong.”
Dropping down to a lower weight class sometimes means losing power, but Centeno does not think that will be a problem for Perez because they have been sparring with heavier opponents, “Because Gino has some pop behind his punches, and we tend to go through a lot of the lighter guys pretty quickly. We wanted to make sure we were getting some heavier guys in who can really bang so they can take some of his power. Our sparring sessions have really impressed me. He is really strong even against some of these heavier guys. We have had guys in there sparring with him at 165 or 170, they are getting hit and they are feeling it.”
